Arsenal boss Renee Slegers admitted defeat was tough to take but had no complaints after her side’s Champions League defence was ended in the semi-finals by Lyon.
Lyon overturned a first-leg deficit to reach the final with a 3-1 victory at the Groupama Stadium on Saturday.
Alessia Russo levelled the tie after goals from Wendie Renard and Kadidiatou Diani but Jule Brand secured a 4-3 aggregate win four minutes from time.
Our Champions League journey comes to an end. pic.twitter.com/zVpJnKCKmo
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) May 2, 2026
Slegers told BBC Sport: “It’s, emotionally, disappointment because we were so close and we all believed we could do it, even though we went through really hard times today.
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“When the 3-1 came that was really tough. At the moment we’re very disappointed.”
She added: “Today I think they were the better team. They’ve got world-class players.
“But still, it was a very tight game. It’s small margins. We scored for 2-1 and it was even. Yes, it was tight.”
Arsenal’s Leah Williamson admitted the Gunners paid the price for a slow start.
Lyon had a goal disallowed before Renard’s twice-taken penalty and Diani made it 2-0 at the break.
Jule Brand settled the tie in Lyon’s favour (Laurent Cipriani/AP)
Jule Brand settled the tie in Lyon’s favour (Laurent Cipriani/AP)(Laurent Cipriani/AP)
Arsenal’s response, which also saw Olivia Smith hit the woodwork, was encouraging but Lyon were ultimately too strong.
Williamson said: “They’re a tough team to play against. They were good today.
“We didn’t quite match that in the first half. I thought we put on a better display in the second, but not enough.
“You want to win the game, create chances, take chances – and we didn’t today.”
The game was held up by VAR interruptions, with the winning goal only awarded after a lengthy offside check.
None of the decisions were particularly controversial but Williamson felt it robbed the game of momentum.
She said: “It’s hard. I don’t think we’re all on the same page with it. It’s frustrating, it’s very stop-start.”